DISAPPOINTMENT AT VERDICT

ST. ANDREWS -- One man walked free, two others were released pending
sentencing and two more were remanded to jail after a jury delivered
its verdicts on charges connected to what the judge in the case
described as a "nightmare situation" July 21 and 22 on Grand Manan
that saw gunfire exchanged, fistfights and brawls and eventually
resulted in a suspected drug dealer's house being burned to the ground.

Michael Dean Small, 27, and Lloyd Stanley Bainbridge, 31, were found
guilty of arson and were remanded into custody until Dec. 4 at 1:30
p.m. when they will be sentenced at the Charlotte County Court House
by Mr. Justice Hugh McLellan.

Carter Wayne Foster, 25, and Matthew Herbert Lambert, 27, will also
return for sentencing at that time. Foster will be sentenced on a
charge of unsafe storage of firearms and Lambert will be sentenced on
possession of a flare gun dangerous to the public peace. Both Foster
and Lambert were found not guilty of the charge of possession of a
weapon, a rifle, for a purpose dangerous to the public peace.

The nine woman, three man jury found Greg Stewart James Guthrie, 26,
not guilty on a charge of possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace.

When that verdict was rendered, Mr. Justice McLellan told Guthrie to
"find someplace else to sit" and the man left the chair he had
occupied in a row with the other four men since the trial began Nov.
2. He sat on a bench at the side of the public area of the courtroom
with his face covered by his hands, shoulders sagging and visibly
overcome with emotion. There were no outbursts when the verdict was
announced, although Bainbridge's mother began sobbing. Mr. Justice
McLellan had issued a stern warning after announcing the jury had
reached its verdicts, telling those assembled in the courtroom that
now was their chance to "just go" if they couldn't abide by his instructions.

He demanded that the public remain silent and still when the verdicts
were announced.

"Not a word," he warned.

People weren't silent outside the courtroom however, once the
verdicts were read and the men released or taken into custody.

One of the first men out of the historic courthouse was Grand Manan
resident Ken Brown who described himself as a friend of the men on trial.

He was not satisfied with the guilty verdicts and said he still
considers the five men who were on trial as "heroes."

"They've done us a great justice," said Brown.

He said the majority of the island feels the same way he does.

Brown said he feels the trial and the verdicts sent a message to drug dealers.

"I think it sends a good message to the drug dealers that it's open
house (on Grand Manan)," said Brown.

"'Cause for sure, the cops aren't going to do anything about it. They
haven't. I've lived on Grand Manan all my life. I see what's going
on. I see what the cops do."

Evidence given by RCMP officers during the trial was that the police
on Grand Manan couldn't investigate complaints fully because
residents were reluctant to make statements or provide information.
Residents testified there wasn't much point going to the police
because they felt the police wouldn't follow through on their complaints.

Outside the courtroom, Jan Lambert, the mother of Matthew Lambert,
said things on Grand Manan for the past 27 years had been leading up
to the incident on July 21. The way things happened that night
weren't planned, but the outcome was inevitable, she said.

While she said she's relieved her son wasn't remanded to jail until
his sentencing she is worried about the two men who were. She
described them as "not violent people."

The five men had been remanded to jail at an undisclosed location in
New Brunswick pending their bail hearings earlier this year after
fears were expressed for their safety in the jail in Saint John where
there were people in custody reportedly connected to the drug dealers
they fought with on Grand Manan

Lambert said she's relieved by the verdict her son received.

"I just did not know which way it was going to go," she said.

"I didn't know what the jury was thinking. I don't know what I would
have done or how I would have thought if it hadn't happened to my child."

John Brown, Bainbridge's grandfather, said he was very disappointed
in his grandson's guilty verdict.

"I just can't imagine that that many people on a jury could come to
that verdict," he stated after the courtroom emptied.

Defense lawyer David Lutz refused to comment on the outcome of the trial.

"I can't say anything until the sentencing, I just can't. It wouldn't
be fair to anybody," he said.

Crown prosecutors James McAvity and Randy DiPaolo were stopped
outside the courtroom by reporters.

"I think our position has been the same as it was from the beginning
of this trial," said McAvity.

"We're not going to discuss the verdict, we're not going to discuss
the merits of the case. The case is still before the court. That's
where we started and we're going to continue on until after
sentencing. Thank you."

St. Andrews councillor Mike Craig, with a red ribbon tied to the
mirror of his truck, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom.
"Sometimes the law fails us," he said.

He said he did not know any of the men on trial personally, but had
many friends on Grand Manan.

Craig said he's been behind the five men "all the way, one hundred
per cent" since they were charged.

Craig said he felt islanders would be disappointed in the verdicts on
the arson charges but happy with the other verdicts. He said the
three innocent verdicts were well deserved, but wished "it was a
clean slate across the board."

Reporters asked him if he felt there would be any ramifications on
the island following the verdicts.

"I don't think anything will happen," said Craig.

"People on Grand Manan are quite reasonable. They can think for themselves."

Craig said something has to be done about the drug problem in general.

When asked if St. Andrews had a drug problem. He responded, "like anywhere."

"I think the whole world has a drug problem," said Craig.

"But that's not the way to handle it?" he was asked by a reporter
referring to what happened on Grand Manan.

"I'm not going to say that," he said with a laugh.

Minister of Fisheries, Rick Doucet, whose Charlotte-The Isles riding
includes Grand Manan, said, "I can't comment on the verdict at this
time as these matters are still before the courts.

"I have to say this, though - this entire experience has been very
hard on the people of Grand Manan and I've heard some disturbing
things along the way. I am going to ask the Minister of Public Safety
to review the information in the testimonies brought forward at the
trial and await the sentencing report from the judge, as he may have
some comments in his report that might be helpful in this regard.

"I am told that many on Grand Manan have lost their trust and respect
for the RCMP and that is not good, either for RCMP or the community,
so something needs to be done. We need to move forward from this
incident, not only for Grand Manan, but also for communities all over
New Brunswick."